BILL ANALYSIS
AB 665
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
AB 665 (Torrico) - As Amended: March 31, 2009
SUBJECT : State adoption services: incentive bonuses
SUMMARY : Expands the use of Improving Adoption Incentive bonus
dollars. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands, from only "adoptions" to "any legal permanency
outcome," the number of ways the state is allowed to expend
federal Improving Adoption Incentive bonus dollars. Legal
permanency outcomes would include, but not be limited to,
adoption, guardianship and reunification.
2)Specifies that the bonus dollars be appropriated continuously
to the Department of Social Services (DSS) for allocation to
counties or to the department for counties in which DSS serves
as the adoption agency, regardless of the fiscal year, based
on documented legal permanency outcomes for older children in
each county.
3)Requires counties or DSS to expend incentive bonuses to
improve legal permanency outcomes for older children.
4)Updates the name, from Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 to the
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
of 2008 (Fostering Connections Act), of the federal
legislation that authorized the adoption incentive payments to
states.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides for child welfare services, which are an array of
social services whose purpose is to protect and promote the
well-being of children, including foster care children.
2)Creates, under the federal Fostering Connections Act, a
monetary incentive system for states that increase finalized
adoptions for foster care youth year over year, and federal
law specifies that these incentive dollars be reinvested back
into children and family services.
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3)Defines, under federal law, "older child adoption" as the
final adoption of a child who has attained age nine and who at
the time of adoptive placement, was in foster care under the
supervision of the state.
4)Requires, under state law, that California reinvest the
federal adoption incentive funds back into the foster care
system "in order to provide adoption services for older
children."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, at any given time,
approximately 45,000 (60%) of all foster youth in California are
nine years of age or older. It is well documented that as a
foster youth ages, he or she is less likely to find a permanent
home. What is also well documented is that high percentages of
foster youth who do not find a permanent family, exit foster
care and may find themselves homeless and/or incarcerated.
This bill seeks to ensure that federal incentive payments
awarded to California for its successful efforts in increasing
the number adoptions of foster youth, ages nine or older, will
be distributed to counties to fund additional activities that
would further increase permanent homes for this group of
children. The incentive dollars may be used for services such
as post adoption services, family finding to locate relatives,
guardianship recruitment of adoptive families who will make
homes for entire sibling sets, preparing youth for permanency,
and numerous other services for children and family. The author
believes that the current language in statute needs to be
aligned with recent changes in federal law.
Adoption Incentive Grant program : In October of 2008, George
Bush and Congress passed some of the most significant foster
care legislation in recent time. The Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (Act), among other
important provisions, renewed the 11-year-old federal Adoption
Incentive Grant Program (Program). The Program was created to
provide financial rewards to states for increasing numbers of
adoptions from foster care above established baselines. The Act
made the following significant changes:
1) Renewed the Program for five additional years;
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2) Doubled the incentive bonuses to states, from $4,000 to
$8,000, per adoption of older foster youth;
3) Doubled the bonuses, from $2,000 to $4,000, for
adoptions of special needs foster youth;
4) Created a $1,000 payment per foster care youth adopted
that exceeds the state's highest rate of all adoptions from
foster care; and
5) Updated the adoption baseline year, from 2002 to 2007,
that states receive incentives.
Bonuses are calculated on the number of increased adoptions year
over federal fiscal year (FFY) by the incentive amount per
category of child (e.g. special needs foster youth, older foster
youth) using the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
system (AFCARS). The federal Program stipulates that the bonus
money must be reinvested into services for children and families
and that the funds cannot be used to supplant existing programs
or as a match for other foster care federal funds. California
would receive the bonus money one year later and will have 24
months to expend it. The author states that directing this
money to counties will not create a negative fiscal impact on
state general funds.
Per AFCARS, in FFY 2008, California finalized 7,580 adoptions,
and in FFY 2007, 7,481. The difference represents an increase
of 99 more adoptions resulting in $1.093 million in federal
bonuses. California would receive this money on 2009-10.
Related legislation : AB 12 (Beall and Bass) 2009-10 opts
California in to new federal laws that allow for federal
financial participation in kinship-guardianship assistance
payments, beginning January 1, 2010, and transitional foster
care services for eligible youth between the ages of 18 and 21
years old, beginning October 1, 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Alliance of Child and Family Services (Sponsor)
California Association of Adoption Agencies (CAAA)
California Youth Connection
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California Youth Permanency Task Force
Crossroads Treatment Centers, Inc.
David and Margaret Youth and Family Services
Five Acres - The Boys' & Girls' Aid to Society of Los Angeles
Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services
Penny Lance Centers
Rebekah Children's Services
Sierra Adoption Services
Valley Teen Ranch
Youth for Change
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089